“Tell me, Jack,” the Twilight King said brushing past the bombshell of his fate if the restoration of Terras was successful. His gaze lingered slightly behind Jack as he spoke. “How many of my people do you believe we can save?”

Jack did his best to ignore the chill running down his spine. “That depends heavily on our plan of attack, Your Majesty. While I can save your people one by one with my abilities, I would need to find and breakdown hundreds of lanterns while in the heart of Bohum’s power. Even if your forces distract him, he won’t leave his stronghold unguarded especially since he’s aware of the leverage your people give him. To makes matters more complicated, if my team and I are discovered, his forces will circle back to collapse on us and our situation will become dire at best.”

“Huh… And we can’t just capture the Bastion in one fell swoop either so either we take the chance of sending you in or we end up in a stalemate where Bohum holds the boss’s people hostage while his forces attack us,” Kafkë said.

He nodded at the skull’s analysis. He had very little information on what the Twilight King and his army of undead were capable of but he hadn’t seen anything to make him believe assailing a flying fortress would be easy. The horde of corrupted winged creatures certainly didn’t improve matters either. However, there was one option available to them.

“Pretty much. but I have an alternative option; however, that will depend heavily on your forces and capabilities,” Jack responded nodding to Kafkë. “I can’t guarantee saving everyone but we can probably save most of them if things go decently and—”

He paused considering whether continuing was a good idea. Ultimately, the Twilight King hadn’t exhibited any alarming signs of a negative reaction aside from his normal imposing demeanor. A reminder about Lilan’s condition shouldn’t set the undead king off.

“And, if I’m present when Lilan dies, I may be able to save her soul by drawing it into my Soul Cradle.”

“Hm.” The Twilight King looked down at his hand for a moment. Once again, his response told Jack little about his mood. “We will speak more of this after you explain what sort of threat the Dark Ones pose. Our knowledge is mired in the legends of the Chthonic Trinity.”

Jack bowed at his shoulders and nodded. He told the Twilight King about the Dark Ones who were ruled by a mysterious entity known as the Dark Maker.

The Dark Ones existed as beings of pure corruption that inhibited various organisms in the worlds they invaded. They often appeared as dark silhouettes with no discernable features when outside their hosts though some of the more powerful Dark Ones were exceptions to that rule. The thousands of creatures, man and beast alike, under Bohum’s thumb were hosts for Dark Ones. The lanterns allowed the weaker Dark Ones to invade the souls of Terras’s natives without needing to come into contact with them.

Contrary to what one might assume from their name, they didn’t actually have a tie to the element of darkness or any element for that matter. As a force that invaded countless worlds that could differ wildly in their native traits, the Dark Ones could adapt themselves for the use of any element or energy type. The only exception known to Helbiel was Logos which appeared to be naturally antithetical to the corruption of the Dark Maker.

Strength-wise, the Dark Ones came in tiers not too dissimilar from Fracture’s ranking system. Helbiel had called them the “magnitudes of corruption” and they ranged from one to seven with one being the weakest and seven being the strongest. Essentially, the magnitudes were a measure of how much power the Dark Maker bestowed up a single entity. Jack’s Fractured Eye converted these magnitudes into the letter ranks used by the Logos with one being E and going up from there.

In tandem with the magnitudes of corruption, another ranking system existed among the Dark Ones.

Those who exemplified traits valued by the Dark Maker, a seemingly random variable according to Helbiel, gained the chance to become special entities called Harbingers. These creatures were selected by the Dark Maker as leaders of advanced troops who invaded worlds and spread the Dark Maker’s corruption. Within the harbingers, there were three grades: Harbinger, Herald, and Prophet.

Normal Harbingers could have a level of power anywhere from magnitude three or C-rank to magnitude five or A-rank. Heralds, on the other hand, were always either magnitude five or six. Lastly, Prophets were the only Dark Ones capable of achieving magnitude seven.

Jack didn’t know how much about Prophets and didn’t like the implications of their existence. Helbiel had said she’d only encountered three Prophets in her life and one of them had nearly killed her forcing her to retreat from a dying world. Supposedly, the Celestials were created by the World Keeper as a response to the first Prophet in eons past.

Power on that scale terrified him.

Once he went through the basic information, he finished with the most important piece of information.

“Lastly, there’s something I need to warn you about, it relates to my plan. Bohum… he is most likely an incomplete harbinger, meaning one that isn’t completely aware of the Dark Maker or his purpose. He’s not a normal one either. Given that he ruined your world in his Avatar of the Eternal Light state and has created three hosts for potent Dark Ones to serve as Justiciars, I believe he is either the host for a veteran Herald or a nascent Prophet,” He stopped to steady his breathing and heart rate which were getting a bit high at the thought of the latter possibility. “If he’s a Herald, we have a chance. If he’s a Prophet—”

“Then what we’re doomed?” Kafkë cut in. “From what you’re sayin not even the boss could handle one of those Prophets. I don’t know if I believe that honestly but let’s say I do, where does that leave us?”

“I was getting to that,” Jack said, a little annoyed at being interrupted. He couldn’t help but scowl as he spoke his next words. “If Bohum is a Prophet, we’ll have to enlist Ciel’s help to deal with him.”

“Assuming you are correct in that we would need the Celestial’s help to combat Bohum if he’s a Prophet, what makes you think he is up to the task?” the Twilight King asked, waving his hand. “By your own account, this Helbiel has much more strength than Ciel and she has issues with them.”

“That’s true,” Jack answered sighing. “However, I have a method of temporarily empowering Ciel to deal with the Prophet. The problem is that he’s my enemy and doing so will put me at extreme risk though that’s almost an inevitability at this point.”

“And what is this method?” the king asked.

“I’m afraid I can’t reveal that, Your Majesty, but I am the only one capable of doing so,” he said smoothly.

“Hmph, a very convenient answer.” The king shook his head. “According to you, I am bound to die on this path and while I do not fear oblivion, I will not go blindly. You are hiding things from me. Everyone has secrets and their selfish plots. As a king, it is impossible to escape such truths yet I am not above being unreasonable if it means saving my people. So, you have two options, Jack. Tell me all, right here and now, or make a pact on your soul that you will do all you can to save my people.”

Jack didn’t answer for a second. He noticed the Twilight King’s fixation on his people rather than the world itself. It was like the purification of the world was only a secondary concern to him even though if the restoration went poorly, there wouldn’t be any hope for his people. Moreover, Jack had secrets that he didn’t wish to reveal to anyone let alone the Twilight King. That wasn’t even considering how his broken Gnosis might react if he revealed its existence. He’d come to a truce with it but he could still feel the desire for unification deep within if he concentrated. What if it felt threatened and forced the matter like it had while he rested?

The pact was problematic as well. If it was made on his soul, his Gnosis might view that as a sign of aggression especially if the consequence for breaking it were dire.

Ugh. I’m always in such a shitty position. He took yet another deep breath. Suck it up, Jack. It won’t be this way forever; I just have to get through this intact.

“What kind of pact did you have in mind?” He asked.

“Simple. I agree to aid you in evading capture by Ciel so long as that is your wish and you agree to do all that you can to save as many of my people as you can. We bind this oath to our souls with a pact and if one of us should break our vow, the oathbreaker’s soul will be ripped from his body killing him.”

Jack inhaled. That was a steep deal but not as bad as it sounded. Based on what he knew now, he suspected there might be a way for him to circumvent the punishment although it was a long shot. More importantly, something deeper than intuition from deep within told him that going all-in was the way to go. He couldn’t exactly place the feeling but he suspected it had something to do with the Blue Heart or his broken Gnosis.

“Alright, I’ll agree to the pact,” he said, matter-of-factly.

To his surprise, the Twilight King laughed. “Good, Jack. I sensed a change in you upon your return but I was not certain of its nature. Now, I see. You have resolved yourself to the path ahead.”

The king’s skeletal hand whipped out grabbing Kafkë who exclaimed, “Ah! Boss, wait, what’re you—”

The skull’s words stopped mid-sentence as the red symbol on its head dimmed significantly.

“Come, Jack. Walk with me on the path to renewal or oblivion,” the Twilight King said holding Kafkë out. He gripped the skull at its base leaving the cap free.

Jack almost hesitated at the Twilight King’s words but he forced his feet forward, resolute in his decision despite the sudden fear in his surface thoughts. He stepped up to the throne and placed his hand on top of the dormant Kafkë. He figured that the Twilight King planned to use the artifact as a focus for the soul pact but he hoped the process wouldn’t harm Kafkë in any way. He liked the skull, odd as it was.

“I, Arcen of the Shale tribe, King of Orrenas, and Bearer of the Twilight Key agree to assist Jack of Fracture in his efforts to restore Terras and escape capture by the Celestial known as Ciel. I swear this upon my soul.”

“I, Jack, Bonded of the Blue Heart, Eternal Soldier, and Holder of the Covenant, agree to do all that is in my power to save the Twilight King’s people from the clutches of Bohum and the Dark Ones. I swear this upon my soul.”

The words spilled from his mouth before he knew what was happening. The corrupted piece of him from deep within surged upward like a geyser. It filled some of his words with power and when he spoke the last lines of the oath, he felt the Gnosis somehow grow more defined and less volatile before it fell back into dormancy.

The Twilight King’s gaze bore into him, all the weight of his presence brought to bear. It was suffocating. Then, it was gone.

“You are a mysterious man, Jack,” Arcen said leaning back in his throne and pulling Kafkë away. “But we are bonded by a pact now, so I will allow your secrets to remain your own.”

Jack listened to the Twilight King but was immediately distracted by a notification that popped into his view.

[Congratulations! You have formed a soul pact with Arcen, the Twilight King!]

Pact Grade: S-rank

Conditions: You have agreed to do all that you can to save Arcen’s people, the people of Orrenas and the old tribes, from Bohum, the Pope of the Eternal Light, and the Dark Ones. This pact will be in effect so long as the pact is upheld by all participating parties.

Effect: +30 Willpower, +30 Focus. The pact holder may sense the presence of any living member of the old tribes and any citizen of Orrenas.

Consequences: Failure to uphold your agreement will result in immediate termination via soul severance.

Applying pact effects…

Error… Foreign influence detected.

Attempting to purge…

Purge unsuccessful…

[Open Status? Y/N]

Jack blinked several times as he read over the notification. He had wondered what pacts and covenants were after receiving the Bonds of Necessity trait yet it hadn’t occurred to him that this would be a possibility. The weirdest part was how his Gnosis had reacted. It was like it had relished the making of the pact. And what did Holder of the Covenant mean?

It must be related to what Drake said. Something about the Covenant of Zoharim? And did my Gnosis improve when I made the pact? Fuck, things always have to get more complicated, don’t they… Wait… What the fuck is that?

There was another notification at the edge of his vision and when he focused on it, a chill went down his spine.

Will the chains of fate be your weapon or the noose around your neck?

March on, eternal soldier.